Employment by race and place: snapshots of America

Following the 2016 presidential election, much of the analysis has focused on the role of white working-class voters in rural areas or small towns, with varying degrees of attention to their economic woes and racial isolation. The white population is indeed more varied than indicated by top-line comparisons of socioeconomic status by race, which typically show that whites have higher education levels and earnings than blacks and Latinos.

Authors

Former Brookings Expert

Broad-brush descriptions by race are often a useful shortcut to understanding societal patterns, but they can be limiting. There is variance within any group of people, and moreover, there is variance by place, both within and across races. To unpack this complexity, we reviewed employment data by race in the nation’s largest local jurisdictions—cities and counties with populations over 500,000. These 130 places account for about half of the nation’s population and include big cities (New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles), smaller cities (Nashville, TN; Louisville, KY), dense urbanized counties (Alameda, CA; Fulton, GA), and places with a small-town or rural feel (Stanislaus County, CA; Lancaster County, PA). In other words, although they all pass the 500,000-population threshold, they encompass a diversity of places and are not limited to large urban areas. Jump to interactive data↴

As we have written previously, 72 percent of working-age adults have a job nationally, but that figure varies widely by jurisdiction, from 51 percent in Detroit up to 83 percent in Johnson County, Kan., outside of Kansas City. Places with the lowest employment rates overall include those struggling with deindustrialization, the after-effects of housing bust and depressed consumer spending; and more generally with economic shifts favoring technology, innovation, and professional services. They include jurisdictions that are majority black (Detroit and Baltimore), Latino (Hidalgo County, Texas, the Bronx in New York City, and Kern and Fresno counties in California’s central valley), and white (Lee, Polk, and Brevard counties, all in Florida).

As the interactive shows, there is considerable variation by race, and not surprisingly, racial employment patterns generally track overall employment patterns. A deeper look, however, shows that the interplay between race, geography, and the economy produces some notable variations in racial employment rates by place, with the most dramatic differences among blacks and whites.

Table 2. Jurisdictions with the highest and lowest employment rates among whites, 2015

Jurisdiction

Employed share of working-age population, whites

Employed share of working-age population, total

Share of working-age population that is white

Total population

Washington, DC

88%

76%

40%

672,228

Manhattan, New York City

85%

77%

48%

1,644,184

Seattle, WA

85%

81%

67%

684,577

San Francisco, CA

84%

79%

43%

864,772

Hennepin County, MN

83%

82%

71%

1,222,886

Johnson County, KS

83%

83%

81%

580,200

Chicago, IL

83%

70%

34%

2,656,349

Douglas County, NE

82%

80%

73%

550,366

Denver, CO

82%

78%

57%

711,111

Boston, MA

82%

76%

47%

669,595

Ramsey County, MN

82%

77%

65%

538,736

DeKalb County, GA

82%

74%

28%

704,031

Nashville, TN

82%

79%

58%

678,096

Fresno County, CA

68%

66%

31%

973,514

Polk County, FL

68%

67%

60%

650,324

Hidalgo County, TX

68%

62%

5%

842,623

Brevard County, FL

68%

68%

75%

568,140

El Paso, TX

68%

69%

13%

673,887

San Bernardino County, CA

67%

67%

30%

2,129,281

Lee County, FL

67%

67%

66%

701,529

Kern County, CA

65%

65%

37%

880,536

Riverside County, CA

65%

66%

35%

2,361,573

Stanislaus County, CA

62%

63%

44%

538,021

Detroit, MI

61%

51%

10%

657,307

Employment rates among whites tend to be highest in cities, consistent with white population growth in those areas. These cities include Washington, Seattle, and the borough of Manhattan. Non-coastal cities also appear, such as Chicago, Hennepin County, Minn. (encompassing Minneapolis), and Denver. While whites make up the plurality or majority of the populations in most of these places, they are also home to sizable black, Latino, and Asian populations.

The places with the lowest rates of white employment cluster in the Sunbelt region, stretching from California’s central valley through Texas to Florida, as well as Detroit in the Midwest. The majority are counties rather than cities, and on the whole, they are not among the nation’s most densely developed places or parts of the largest metropolitan areas (excluding Detroit and San Bernardino and Riverside counties in California). Although three of these places are majority white (all in Florida), in other places the white population is disproportionately small, and overall these places have relatively large Latino populations, excepting Detroit, which is majority black.

Table 3. Jurisdictions with the highest and lowest employment rates among blacks, 2015

Jurisdiction

Employed share of working-age population, blacks

Employed share of working-age population, total

Share of working-age population that is black

Total population

Essex County, MA

87%

77%

3%

753,126

Johnson County, KS

86%

83%

5%

580,200

Bristol County, MA

84%

74%

3%

583,402

Snohomish County, WA

84%

76%

3%

772,208

Ventura County, CA

83%

74%

2%

850,494

Denton County, TX

82%

79%

10%

780,362

Fairfax County, VA

81%

79%

9%

1,180,256

Bergen County, NJ

81%

75%

5%

938,203

Baltimore County, MD

80%

78%

28%

830,630

Collin County, TX

80%

78%

10%

913,891

Montgomery County, PA

80%

78%

9%

819,060

Kane County, IL

59%

77%

5%

530,107

Passaic County, NJ

59%

70%

11%

510,795

Summit County, OH

59%

74%

14%

542,794

Baltimore, MD

58%

65%

60%

622,111

San Joaquin County, CA

57%

65%

7%

726,209

Philadelphia, PA

57%

64%

40%

1,567,071

Chicago, IL

56%

70%

29%

2,656,349

Kern County, CA

53%

65%

5%

880,536

Fresno County, CA

53%

66%

5%

973,514

San Francisco, CA

53%

79%

4%

864,772

Detroit, MI

50%

51%

79%

657,307

Places with the highest rates of black employment are all suburban counties, and most have small black populations below the national average of 12 percent. With one exception (Ventura County, Calif.), all are majority white. About half are in the mid-Atlantic and New England regions, with the rest scattered throughout the country in Texas, California, and Kansas. A few abut central cities with some of the lowest employment rates for blacks. For instance, both Baltimore County and Montgomery County, Pa., have black employment rates of 80 percent, compared to rates below 60 percent in neighboring Baltimore and Philadelphia, respectively. These two cities are among the most racially segregated in the country and have high levels of concentrated poverty (neighborhoods where at least two of every five people are poor). As our colleague William Frey has shown, the Baltimore and Philadelphia regions are experiencing some of the largest increases in the suburban black population, as are the Washington and Dallas regions, both of which also have high black employment rates in suburban jurisdictions. Frey notes that black suburbanization appears to be similar to white suburbanization, in that those moving to the suburbs of both races are younger, have higher levels of education, and tend to be married couples with children.

In addition to the stark city-suburb disparities within the black population, the data also show sharp black-white disparities within the same city. Chicago and San Francisco post some of the lowest black employment rates (56 percent and 53 percent, respectively), as well as the highest white employment rates (83 percent and 84 percent). Washington and Manhattan also show large black-white employment gaps. The two places have the highest and second highest rates of white employment (88 and 85 percent, respectively), compared to 64 and 62 percent for blacks, a difference of over twenty percentage points.

Table 4. Jurisdictions with the highest and lowest employment rates among Latinos, 2015

Jurisdiction

Employed share of working-age population, Latinos

Employed share of working-age population, total

Share of working-age population that is Latino

Total population

Fairfax County, VA

84%

79%

17%

1,180,256

Johnson County, KS

83%

83%

7%

580,200

Jefferson County, AL

83%

72%

4%

660,136

Nashville, TN

82%

79%

9%

678,096

Baltimore County, MD

82%

78%

5%

830,630

Portland, OR

82%

77%

8%

626,857

DuPage County, IL

82%

78%

14%

933,366

Snohomish County, WA

81%

76%

9%

772,208

Ocean County, NJ

81%

75%

10%

588,338

Hennepin County, MN

81%

82%

6%

1,222,886

Salt Lake County, UT

81%

78%

17%

1,107,424

Stanislaus County, CA

64%

63%

44%

538,021

Pierce County, WA

63%

69%

9%

845,642

The Bronx, New York City

63%

64%

56%

1,455,667

Monroe County, NY

63%

75%

8%

750,191

Cuyahoga County, OH

63%

71%

6%

1,255,884

Camden County, NJ

63%

74%

15%

510,308

Bristol County, MA

62%

74%

6%

583,402

Hidalgo County, TX

62%

62%

93%

842,623

Philadelphia, PA

58%

64%

13%

1,567,071

Detroit, MI

53%

51%

8%

657,307

Similar to blacks, the employment rates of Latinos are also typically highest in counties and in places where they make up a disproportionately small share of the population (except for Fairfax County, Va., and Salt Lake County, Utah, where Latinos account for 17 percent of the population, equal to the national average). They are scattered geographically throughout the country, and all either represent urban cores or abut major metropolitan centers. Jurisdictions with the lowest Latino employment rates are also scattered, but include more cities like Cleveland (in Cuyahoga County), the Bronx in New York City, Philadelphia, and Detroit, as well as counties with a historic agricultural base and higher-than-average Latino population such as Stanislaus County in California’s Central Valley (44 percent Latino) and Hidalgo County in southern Texas (93 percent Latino).

Table 5. Jurisdictions with the highest and lowest employment rates among Asians, 2015

Jurisdiction

Employed share of working-age population, Asians

Employed share of working-age population, total

Share of working-age population that is Asian

Total population

Ocean County, NJ

93%

75%

3%

588,338

Anne Arundel County, MD

86%

80%

5%

564,752

Washington, DC

82%

76%

5%

672,228

Jefferson County, AL

80%

72%

2%

660,136

Montgomery County, MD

80%

80%

16%

1,039,816

Hennepin County, MN

79%

82%

8%

1,222,886

New Castle County, DE

79%

76%

6%

556,354

Lake County, IL

78%

77%

7%

704,329

Honolulu County, HI

78%

77%

50%

998,556

Will County, IL

78%

77%

5%

686,988

Kane County, IL

78%

77%

4%

530,107

San Mateo County, CA

78%

78%

31%

764,505

Pima County, AZ

65%

68%

3%

1,009,377

Lee County, FL

65%

67%

2%

701,529

Allegheny County, PA

64%

75%

4%

1,228,320

The Bronx, New York City

63%

64%

4%

1,455,667

Riverside County, CA

62%

66%

7%

2,361,573

Ramsey County, MN

62%

77%

14%

538,736

Fresno County, CA

60%

66%

11%

973,514

San Joaquin County, CA

60%

65%

16%

726,209

Providence County, RI

57%

73%

5%

633,650

Detroit, MI

53%

51%

1%

657,307

Erie County, NY

53%

75%

4%

922,993

Jurisdictions with the highest Asian employment rates cluster in the Midwest (Hennepin County, Min. and several counties around Chicago) and the mid-Atlantic (Washington and Montgomery County, Md.), as well as places in Alabama, California, and Hawaii. Asians do not account for large shares of these counties, with the exception of Montgomery County, where they make up 16 percent of the population, and Honolulu, Hawaii, where they make up half of the population. The places with the lowest employment rates for Asians cover a range of places from Riverside, Fresno, and San Joaquin Counties in California, where they represent over twice their population share nationally; to Allegheny and Erie Counties and Detroit in the Rust Belt; The Bronx; Ramsey County in the Twin Cities area; Providence County, R.I.; and Lee County in Florida.

These data spotlight related challenges: Weak-market places need to build on their assets such as educational institutions, industry clusters, and civic leadership to boost their overall productivity and growth. And all places need to develop and invest in strategies to ensure that no community is systematically left behind. Both highlight that positive top-line employment numbers at the national or regional levels do not tell the whole story, as well as the urgent need to do the complex, long-term work of devising and delivering more inclusive economic growth strategies.